What is ANDRILL?

ANDRILL (Antarctic Geologic Drilling) is a drilling program currently on-ice in Antarctica. ANDRILL is in its second year of drilling into the rocks of the sea floor, which lie beneath the ice and the ocean, to uncover information about the past and changing Antarctic climate. The rocks below the sea floor capture information about the climate present on the earth at the time when the rocks formed. By drilling into these rocks and bringing them back up to the surface to study, we can travel backwards in time millions of years to learn not only about the past climates, but also about how quickly climate has changed, and speculate about the causes and effects of these climate changes. By studying the clues contained in these rock cores, including fossils, sedimentary structures, rock type, geochemistry, and magnetism, scientists can interpret what the rocks are telling us about the ancient environments present in Antarctica. Understanding Antarctica's climate history and the responses of Antarctic ice to past global climate change will increase our understanding of present climate change and the responses being measured in the Polar Regions today.

The picture on this "postcard" shows short segments of two rock cores recovered by ANDRILL. Scientists can "read" the cores, studying the layers and types of materials in each core, to learn about the past.

You might also be interested in:

The cryosphere includes the parts of the Earth system where water is in its frozen (solid) form. This includes snow, sea ice, icebergs, ice shelves, glaciers, ice sheets, and permafrost soils. Approximately...more

Antarctica is unique. It is the coldest, windiest, and driest continent on Earth. The land is barren and mostly covered with a thick sheet of ice. Antarctica is almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle...more

Sea ice is frozen seawater. It can be several meters thick and it moves over time. Although the salts in the seawater do not freeze, pockets of concentrated salty water become trapped in the sea ice when...more

Changes in the cryosphere have a considerable impact on global climate. This is because the cryosphere is an important part of the Earth system and because it is so interconnected with other parts of the...more

Fossils are evidence of ancient life preserved within sedimentary rocks. They are clues to what living things, ecosystems, and environments were like since life has existed on this planet. The oldest...more

How Do We Know What's Underneath the Ice in Antarctica? After I sent my last postcard, someone asked me "How do you know what is underneath the ice in Antarctica?" I got the question just before I had...more

This is my 10th year with the Anchorage School District as a science teacher, currently working with K-12 teachers around the district rather than in a classroom. My most recent classroom time was as a...more